Social Work in Germany. Developments in a professional field and academic discipline

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Caroline Schmitt ◽  
Matthias D. Witte
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Social Question ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global North ◽  
Professional Field ◽  
Insight Into

In many countries of the Global North, social work developed as an independent profession and discipline in the 20th century. One of the countries in which social work became established as a professional field was Germany. This field's origins go back to the “social question”. The articles in this volume deal with current social work issues, offering an insight into the current state of discussion on each topic in Germany. They all draw attention to the complex interplay between local social work and the field’s expansion beyond individual places and national states, and the interconnections between national societal developments in Germany and those on an international, global level.

Social Sciences between the Systems: The Ecuadorian University between Science, Education, Politics and Economy

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Altmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Education Politics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Global North ◽  
Self Production ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Operative Closure

Universities are, like all organizations, at the intersection of different functional subsystems. They are not only dedicated to research (science) and teaching (education) but are also place for communications that form part of politics, economics and so on. But, what happens to universities, and, more precisely, social sciences in university, if the social system they work in is not differentiated in the way the social sciences in the Global North are used to? What if there is no clear distinction between science and politics? Does academic autonomy lead in this situation to some kind of ‘university as a subsystem’, complete with its own code and autopoiesis? Or will the different subsystems de-differentiate increasingly, as predicted by Luhmann? This contribution will analyse social sciences in Ecuadorian universities as an example for organizations at the intersection of functional systems that are not fully differentiated. The development, the operative closure, the institutionalization and the self-production of a concrete discipline under constant pressure of other social systems will be analysed. The goal is a further insight into processes of differentiation in the Global South and the role of institutions in these processes. Part of this is the attempt to actualize and criticize Niklas Luhmann’s approach of systems theory to regions outside of the Global North. JEL: O300, Z130

scholarly journals La práctica de investigación en el campo disciplinar de trabajo social

2011 ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
Carmen Lera
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Current State ◽  
Social Reform Movements ◽  
National University ◽  
Professional Field ◽  
Trabajo Social ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
Entre Rios

El presente trabajo reflexiona sobre la situación de la investigación en el campo del Trabajo Social en Argentina y más específicamente su desarrollo en la Facultad de Trabajo Social de la Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. El recorrido se inicia recuperando a los precursores en el ámbito de las investigaciones sociales que básicamente están ligadas a los movimientos de reforma social. En esa breve incursión resultan interesantes los aportes provenientes de la historiografía de las mujeres. Luego se aborda la actualidad de la investigación de Trabajo Social en el contexto argentino donde se avizoran renovados desarrollos que contribuyen a la consolidación del campo profesional.This paper serves to reflect on the research situation in the field of social work in Argentina and more specifically its development at the Faculty of Social Work in the National University of Entre Ríos. We started off by recovering the forerunners of social research, which is mainly linked to social reform movements. In this brief incursion into the field, the contributions based on the historiography of women proved to be of interest. The research into social work was then looked at in its current state within the Argentinean context, where renewed progress was examined leading to the consolidation of the professional field.

scholarly journals Attachment Theory and the Social Work Curriculum

10.18060/130 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-48
Author(s):  
Timothy Page ◽  
Rhonda Norwood
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Emotional Security ◽  
Attachment Behavior ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Social ◽  
Attachment Research

Attachment theory, as developed by Bowlby and Ainsworth, represented a major departure from the current theories of human development of the time, particularly in its rejection of the major tenets of psychoanalytic theory and its integration of core ideas from evolution theory and cybernetics (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991). Attachment theory posits that a foundational human instinct, the desire to achieve safety and protection through proximity to a protective figure, is responsible for the formation of a special class of life-long affectional bonds, referred to as “attachments.” Emotional security is derived to a great extent, according to the theory, from experience with caregivers who are consistently responsive to the developing infant’s expression of attachment behavior toward them. Forty years of empirical research has shown that attachment is a universal characteristic that predicts children’s development of cognitive and social competence, emotional regulation, and positive self-image (Weinfield, Sroufe, Egeland, & Carlson, 1999). Social work educators are currently challenged to better integrate the findings of attachment research into their curricula to reflect more the current state of developmental science.

Transnarodowa kwestia społeczna. Migracje i nierówności społeczne

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Thomas Faist
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Question ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ecological Aspects ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global North ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Political Economic

The social question is back. Yet today’s social question is not primarily between labour and capital, as it was in the nineteenth century and throughout much of the twentieth. The contemporary social question is located at the interstices between the global South and the global North. It finds its expression in movements of people, seeking a better life or fleeing unsustainable social, political, economic, and ecological conditions. It is transnationalized because migrants and their significant others entertain ties across the borders of national states in transnational social spaces; because of the cross-border diffusion of norms; and because there are implications of migration for social inequalities within national states. The first section discusses the structure of social inequalities in migration and the politics around it. It starts, first, by elaborating upon the commonalities and differences of the social question in the 19th and 21st centuries and then, second, asks whether the increasing relevance of location compared to class for income and life chances has replaced voice as a main response by exit. This is followed, third, by an elaboration of the nexus between social inequalities and migration, i.e. migration being both an antecedent and a consequence of social inequalities. Fourth, the focus moves to the main changes in migration control, its externalization from border control to remote control. This is followed, fifth, by a consideration of the other side of the coin, internalization processes in countries of destination and origin, driven by processes such as marketization and securitization of migration. The second section then moves on to sketch one of the main challenges, the need to include ecological aspects into the discussion of the social question. The analysis concludes with reflections on the shifting form of the transnationalized social question. Finally, the outlook discusses the role of social scientists in discussing the transnationalized social question in the public sphere.

International Social and Economic Justice and On-line Advocacy

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Queiro-Tajalli ◽  
Craig Campbell ◽  
John McNutt
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Global Level ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
New Methods ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
On Line ◽  
International Social

Social work is unusual among the professions for its commitment to advocacy on behalf of the poor, the dispossessed and the disadvantaged. International human rights and the promotion of social and economic justice are clearly a part of this mission. The article addresses an emerging aspect of advocacy by examining the nexus between international social and economic justice issues and the social work response. It addresses the revolution in advocacy methods created by information technology. These new techniques can offer a wealth of opportunities to further develop the international advocacy component of the social work profession. The impacts these new methods can have on the creation of justice on a global level are discussed.

Promoting Young People’s Participation: Exploring Social Work’s Contribution to the Literature

Social Work ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Pritzker ◽  
Katie Richards-Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Youth Civic Engagement ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current State ◽  
Meaningful Involvement ◽  
The Social

Abstract In the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics, social workers are called on to promote meaningful involvement in decision making among vulnerable populations. The ethical imperatives and social justice implications associated with unequal participation suggest that the field of social work is uniquely situated to lead research and practice in the area of youth civic engagement. This article examines the current state of the social work literature regarding how young people participate civically. Authors identified 113 articles on this topic published over the past decade in journals with a large presence in social work or by social work authors. They present the findings of their exploratory research, with a focus on describing where this research is being published, the range of research foci, and the terms used to describe this work. Increased attention to promoting youth civic engagement is needed in the profession’s core journals. Based on the analysis of this literature, they recommend moving toward a cohesive body of social work scholarship that includes increased collaboration among scholars, more unified terms and language, increased range of research foci and methodologies, and more rigorous and comparative testing of strategies by which youths participate civically.

Social Work Scholarship on Forced Migration: A Scoping Review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odessa Gonzalez Benson ◽  
Karin Wachter ◽  
Jessica Lee ◽  
Darlene Nichols ◽  
Erica Hylton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Large Majority ◽  
Production Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global North

Abstract This scoping review identifies and analyses historical to present–day contributions of social work scholarship on forced migration, with the aim of reviewing trends and identifying priority areas for the discipline moving forward. This review examined 331 articles related to forced migration published in 40 social work journals over four decades (1978 to 2019). Findings illustrate notable trends in temporal, methodological, topical and geographical dimensions and how those vary by first authors' locations, research sites and study populations. Temporally, the number of articles has been increasing, quadrupling between 2001–2010 and 2011–2019, with 20 social work journals doubling their number of articles. Methodologically, the large majority of articles were qualitative and/or conceptual. Topically, the most common were practice, intervention, health and mental health, while the least common topics included human rights, social justice, poverty, religion, violence, history and theory. Geographically, social work scholarship was mainly focused on refugees in the Global North and third-country resettlement contexts, and authored by scholars in the Global North. Findings thus reveal critical gaps in topics and geographical biases, raising questions related to issues of ethics, power and the production of knowledge about forced migration in the social work academy.

Registration and social work education: A golden opportunity or a Trojan horse?

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate van Heugten
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Distribution Of Power ◽  
The Impact

• Summary: The Social Workers Registration Act (2003) introduced a system of voluntary statutory registration of the social work occupation in Aotearoa New Zealand. This was hailed as a measure that would protect the public from unsafe practices, and enhance the status of the profession. More recently, however, commentators have noted that these positive effects may not necessarily be forthcoming. This article explores the impact of registration on educational programmes, by placing regulation of the occupation in the context of hegemonic neoliberalism. • Findings: Neoliberal approaches to social care not only constrain the delivery of services, but attempt to shape the perspectives of the social care workforce. Education is a potentially powerful tool for achieving that shaping. Where statutory regulation of social work is in force, competency based training threatens to supplant critical analysis, which is a hallmark of higher education. To retain viability as an academic discipline, social work educators must champion social work’s continuing role in analysing and theorizing the distribution of power in social welfare and social care. • Application: Social work educators have a role in supporting practitioners, who struggle to maintain disciplinary integrity whilst employed within 21st-century human services, by continuing to engage in critical debates, and advancing knowledge about the theory—practice nexus. In advancing such knowledge, they also have much to offer other disciplines in institutions of higher education that are looking to explicate their utility in the ‘real world’.

scholarly journals Trabajadora/e/s Sociales como sujetos políticos, una apuesta desde la reconceptualización latinoamericana

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Haider Esteban Bautista Joaqui ◽  
Joseph Vicent Castillo Niño
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Social Question ◽  
Political Subject ◽  
Critical Social Work ◽  
The Social

El presente artículo pretende evidenciar algunas reflexiones sobre la necesidad del profesionalen Trabajo Social como sujeto político en la cotidianidad ante la arremetida del modelo neoliberal. El objetivo fue establecer la relación entre el movimiento de reconceptualización y la construcción de un/a trabajador/a social como sujeto político acorde a la cuestión social. Se empleó una revisión bibliográfica de carácter cualitativa en diversas bases de datos y mediante múltiples buscadores académicos. Se presenta el contexto socio-histórico del proceso de la reconceptualización en Latinoamérica. Sumada una búsqueda sobre las implicaciones de ser sujeto social y la comprensión de la cuestión social de cara a nuevas representaciones de la desigualdad social.  Luego, una articulación y reflexión de las categoríasseñaladas anteriormente dando un apartado de discusión donde son expuestos algunos argumentosque sustentan el objetivo central de la investigación. A manera de conclusión, se destaca la necesidadde ser sujeto político desde la formación y ejercicio profesional frente a las nuevas representacionesde la cuestión social en concordancia con la vigencia de los aportes realizados por el movimiento de lareconceptualización (1960-1970). Se finaliza la discusión con una invitación para ampliar y fortalecer el área de investigación como una apuesta ético-política This article aims to highlight some reflections on the need of the social worker as a political subject in all his professional actions, is a qualitative research, conducted under a documentary review in various databases and repositories, indexed books and journals, both nationally and internationally. It is divided into a review of the socio-historical context of the process of reconceptualization and its contributions to the construction of critical social work, a review of the importance and implications of being a social subject, the understanding of the social question emanating from a capitalist model that constantly generates inequalities and precarious living conditions for a large part of the world’s population, followed by an articulation and reflection of the categories outlined above, finally, conclusions are presented that point to the need to be a political subject from the training and professional practice as a response to the community and in accordance with the validity of the reconceptualization as an emancipating struggle for the social subjects that see afectted their integrity and the guarantee of their human rights, calling on him or the professional in Social Work, to be a participant in the processes he carries out and not seen as a third , oblivious to that reality, to conclude the invitation is extended to expand and strengthen the area of research as an ethical-political bet.

scholarly journals O Desafio de Envelhecer e o Papel do Serviço Social: Lutar para Sobreviver

REVISTA PLURI ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Geni Emília De Souza
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Social Question ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Work Relationship

Este estudo tem por objetivo discorrer a respeito do que seja envelhecer com qualidade de vida, mostrar como é possível encarar a velhice e destacar que o envelhecimento populacional e aumento da longevidade são fenômenos que vêm ocorrendo mundialmente. Tendo em vista este cenário, objetiva-se ainda ressaltar os desafios da atuação do Serviço Social na defesa dos direitos da terceira idade, bem como identificar alguns dos direitos sociais dos idosos que não são efetivados. Desta forma, a velhice é analisada, neste trabalho, como construção social nas diversas sociedades, levando em consideração que o processo de efetivação dos direitos das pessoas consideradas idosas está intrinsicamente relacionado com a história social e política do país. A questão social, como resultado da relação capital/trabalho, o neoliberalismo e as condições de trabalho do Assistente Social são analisados como desafios para o Serviço Social que lida diretamente com a tentativa de efetivação dos direitos sociais, por meio de políticas públicas. Os direitos sociais são abordados como resultantes das lutas que os homens travam historicamente por sua emancipação.Palavras-Chave: Direitos Sociais; Envelhecimento; Longevidade; Questão Social; Serviço Social.AbstractThis study aims to discuss what it means to grow old with quality of life, to show how it is possible to face old age and to highlight that population aging and increased longevity are phenomena that have been occurring worldwide. In view of this scenario, the objective is also to highlight the challenges of the work of Social Work in the defense of the rights of the elderly, as well as to identify some of the social rights of the elderly that are not enforced. Thus, old age is analyzed, in this work, as a social construction in different societies, taking into account that the process of realizing the rights of people considered elderly is intrinsically related to the social and political history of the country. The social question, as a result of the capital/work relationship, neoliberalism and the working conditions of the Social Worker are analyzed as challenges for Social Work that deals directly with the attempt to enforce social rights, through public policies. Social rights are addressed as a result of the struggles that men have historically fought for their emancipation.Keywords: Social Rights; Aging; Longevity; Social question; Social Service.

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